Old Maverick Road

After our unpleasant encounter with the park ranger, we were ready to explore Big Bend National Park for the next few days. Big Bend is a massive park, 70 miles from north to south and 40 miles across. Our game plan was to start at the southernmost point, Santa Elena Canyon. There are two ways to get there from the west entrance of the park. You can take the main road, which takes about an hour or use a small dirt road, cutting the time in half.

We decided to venture down the dirt road. The going was slow on the narrow, rutted road, but the scenery was spectacular.
Unfortunately, Chris was still feeling the effects of the rude guard and missed out on some of the enjoyment of our journey.

Very quickly, I spotted an interesting bird in a tree. We stopped to take a picture. Before I could get the camera out, the bird flew to the ground, and we realized that it was a roadrunner. I did not recognize it at first because I have never seen one in a tree before.

We enjoyed the beauty of the mountains, canyons, and plant life as we made our way down the narrow path. We spotted several more roadrunners as we went. In the distance, we saw a massive wall of rock. As we drew closer to the wall, we could see a narrow gap. It was still a distance away, but I felt like that was our destination.

For the most part, we felt like we were the only people in the world driving the lonely road through the wilderness. Now and then, we saw other vehicles pass by, reminding us that we were not alone.

As we neared the cliffs, the vegetation changed. We rounded a curve to find what looked like an oasis of lush greenery lining the road. We reached the end of the dirt road, perched high above the desert floor, and turned on to the main road.

Santa Elena Canyon

In just a few minutes, we arrived at the gap we had seen from a distance, Santa Elena Canyon. We continued on foot into the canyon, walking right next to the Rio Grande River. In this spot, the river is narrow and shallow. It looked like we could walk right across into Mexico. I pondered out loud what would stop anyone from crossing the border here when Chris suggested the practical point that it might be the massive cliffs above the river.

As we hiked up the rocks into the canyons, Chris’s mood did not improve at all as we encountered numerous people with no regard for social distancing. The hike took forever as we continually jumped off the side of the trail to avoid groups of people, most not even wearing masks, which was no easy feat. The path was narrow, and the sides were steep. Of all the people we met on the trail, only two others were courteous enough to let us pass while they stepped to the side.

The canyon was beautiful, with massive rock walls rising above the river on both sides. We were a stone’s throw from Mexico.
Kayakers drifted silently along the river below us. It was a magical scene.

As we continued into the canyon, the environment changed. The warm air took on a damp, chilly quality. Instead of cactuses and desert vegetation, bamboo surrounded us. It looked more like a jungle than a desert. As we continued our walk, we could hear the joyful sounds of children echoing through the canyon.

As we walked back through the canyon, Chris became more and more irritated as the droves of rude people continued. When we finally reached the staircases descending to the canyon entrance, he started hopping, parkour-style, down the rocks. I commented on his activities, asking him if he thought he was Mr. Fancypants or something. Instantly, my comment broke Chris’s sullen mood.

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive

After our stressful hike, we followed the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive north. Our campground was just a few miles outside the northern entrance of the park. Our first indication that it was going to be a magnificent drive was when Chris spotted wild horses. The landscape changed several times as we drove past ruins, through canyons, and around the mountains’ bases. Every time we thought we had seen everything there was to see, new mountains appeared in the distance.

Campground Disappointment

We drove for two hours before arriving at Stillwell RV Park. When I planned this segment of our trip, we originally wanted to stay in one of the campgrounds at Big Bend. A lot of people had the same idea to spend Christmas there. There were no dispersed camping spots available, and there were no open sites in the campgrounds on Christmas Eve. We considered booking for the 23rd and 25th and then stay Christmas Eve outside the park.

When I looked up campgrounds, Stillwell advertised internet, power, water, and showers. Chris and I decided that we would take advantage of the campground’s perks and enjoy the holiday instead of moving around. When we called to make the reservation for a site with electricity, the campground indicated that we were lucky that they had one left. I was excited that things were falling into place.

The campground turned out to be a disappointment. When we made the reservation, no one mentioned the showers were closed. We picked a campsite, to realize the internet did not reach that far. Despite what they had indicated on the phone, the campground was almost empty, so we were able to move to a site where the internet reached. The internet, however, was intermittent at best. There was no phone service at all.

As disappointed as we were with the camping arrangement, we made the best of it. We had a beautiful view, and the weather was not bad. The sunsets were spectacular.

On our second day, we woke up to a hazy, foggy sky. I was so happy we had done the scenic drive when the sky was blue and everything was clear. We took a left at Panther Junction and drove to Rio Grande Village. We could see a beautiful wall of mountains in the distance. As we drew closer, the fog cleared enough for us to have a better view.

Boquillas Canyon

When we reached Boquillas Canyon, the parking lot was full, so we settled for driving to the various overlooks. The Boquillas Canyon overlook was right above the Rio Grande River. One of the popular activities in this area is to cross the border to visit Boquillas Del Carmen, a Mexican village. The border crossing was closed because of the pandemic. There were trinkets for sale to benefit the people of the town. Without tourism, their economy has been devastated.

From the overlook, I could see a party on the Mexican side of the river. They had loud music playing and looked like they were having a great time. It delighted me to see them having fun in such a stressful time.

Initially, we planned to spend three days in the park. Since hiking was off the table, we decided to save some gas and only spend two days in the park. We drove to the Chisos Basin.

The terrain was entirely different than the rest of the park. As we climbed the mountain, we started to see trees. We were no longer in the desert. We passed a sign proclaiming we were in bear and mountain lion country.

As we crossed the top of the mountain, we were stunned by the breathtaking scene before us. It was the most beautiful place we had seen since we were in the Badlands in South Dakota. Our descent was scary as the road twisted down the mountain. It didn’t help that our brake indicators were squealing.

We weren’t apprehensive about the brakes, as they had only recently started making noise, and we knew we would be able to change them when we got to Chris’s cousin’s house. While we knew the brakes would be adequate, it was still unnerving.

We safely reached the bottom of the mountain, where we went on the short Window View Trail. We enjoyed the spectacular view.

Holiday Blues

While I enjoyed our explorations, I found myself becoming more and more depressed. For the past 27 years, I spent Christmas Eve running around, putting the final touches on a perfect Christmas for my babies. Even after they were grown, they always came over Christmas Day, and I enjoyed making it memorable for them. I felt utterly lost being so far from the boys.

We returned to our campsite and enjoyed another beautiful sunset. We drove up to the office for the bathroom. When we pulled in, we saw a dozen wild pigs. I attempted to snap a photo of them as they ran in front of our truck, but the lighting was not good enough to get the shot. I waited for all of them to leave before getting out of the truck. When I saw the shower facilities, I concluded that we would not have used them anyway.

I was in a much better frame of mind on Christmas Day. We hung out at the campground for the day and, while we had no phone service, we were able to have a Facebook video call with each of the boys.

Saturday morning came, and we were on the road again, headed to the hill country.